DSport ties up rights to Afghanistan Premier League

Cricket - 14 Sep 2018

Author: Martin Ross

DSport, the Indian television sports channel owned by international media giant Discovery, has picked up rights to the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League, a Twenty20 competition to be held next month.

The broadcaster has secured rights across the Indian subcontinent for the first edition of the APL from 5 to 21 October.

The five-team league involving prominent Afghan and foreign players has been approved and sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council, and will be staged at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

Shafiqullah Stanikzai, the chief executive of the ACB, described himself as “delighted that the APL T20 will be carried to close to 100 million homes in India through the broadcast on DSport.”

RC Venkateish, managing director and chief executive of Lex Sportel Vision, remarked: “We are delighted to partner with Afghanistan Cricket Board to produce this league and telecast the same on DSport.”

Earlier this year, DSport teamed up with Viacom 18, one of India's leading entertainment networks, to provide joint coverage of the Nidahas Trophy, a Twenty20 competition featuring Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

The broadcaster’s first cricket rights acquisition was last year’s Twenty20 series between Pakistan and an ICC World XI in Lahore. It also secured rights to the Pakistan Super League.